San Antonio Current — November 16, 2022

REASSESSING THE ELECTION | FROM LANIER H.S. TO MEXICO'S NATIONAL HOOPS TEAM | TALKING WITH METAL GOD ROB HALFORD |

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Current Events

Despite Beto O’Rourke’s defeat, there’s reason for San Antonio progressives to celebrate the last election cycle

Bad Takes

Last week’s election shows politicos’ eagerness to fearmonger about crime instead of averting it

City Scrapes

San Antonio’s Alamodome and AT&T Center mistakes offer warnings as leaders consider a new ballpark

Fired Up

37 Food

Home Cooking for the Holidays

These San Antonio-made items will brighten any foodie’s season

41

Music

High Priest of Metal

Catching up with Rob Halford ahead of Judas Priest’s two-night run at Tech Port Center

Critics’ Picks

Marlene Mejia

That Rocks/That Sucks

HThe FBI and SAPD are investigating what appeared to be an a empted bombing of a sculpture of Vladimir Lenin in downtown San Antonio last week. Security cameras caught a man placing what appeared to be a pair of paint cans under the sculpture, which subsequently exploded. No one was hurt, and the sculpture — which is actually a critique of life under communism — remains structurally sound.

HWith San Antonio activists conducting a signature drive to get a city charter change decriminalizing marijuana on the ballot, five other Texas cities voted to decriminalize in the midterm election. Ground Game Texas, the same progressive group involved in the Alamo City push, led the charge in those other cities.

HState Sen. Roland Gutierrez released call logs last week showing that Gov. Greg Abbo waited for hours after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde to call Department of Public Safety Chief Steven McCraw. Abbo ultimately spoke with McCraw for just 31 minutes on the day of the shooting and a ended a fundraiser for his re-election campaign in East Texas that evening.

Texas voter turnout fell from its recent midterm peak in 2018 but remained higher than in any other midterm since 1994, when George W. Bush beat Ann Richards in the governor’s race. According to a Texas Tribune analysis, 45.7% of Texas voters cast a ballot on or before last Tuesday, a drop of 7.3% from the 2018 midterm that featured the Beto O’Rourke-Ted Cruz senate race. Still, that was 12 points higher than the 2014 midterm. — Abe Asher

Breaking Twitter with Texas billionaire Elon Musk

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

Boy, it didn’t take Texas billionaire and full-time internet troll Elon Musk long to turn Twi er into even more of a shit show.

In the roughly two weeks since Musk dropped $44 billion to buy the social network, it’s slashed its workforce by half and experienced an exodus of both senior executives and advertisers. All while launching, then scrapping, features so fast it’s left users’ heads spinning.

Perhaps the worst example of the la er is Musk’s decision to introduce a service that lets users buy a coveted verification checkmark for

$8 a month. Almost immediately after Twi er launched the offer, phony accounts proliferated.

A fake Eli Lilly promised free insulin, while a phony LeBron James asked to be traded and a parody Tesla account — Musk’s own car company — bragged about using child laborers.

Deluged with complaints, Twi er late Thursday night said it would resume identifying larger accounts as “Official” to fight fake accounts. Musk himself tweeted the following day that the platform would begin tagging parody accounts with the label “Parody.”

Meanwhile, both the Federal Trade Commission and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachuse s, have also issued stern warnings to Musk about the dangers of dicking around with one of the world’s most-accessed social networks.

The irony here is that Twi er users themselves warned Musk just how badly his $8-a-pop verifications would go the moment he floated the idea in a tweet. Apparently, advice is wasted on assclowns and narcissists. — Sanford Nowlin

Democrat Peter Sakai easily won the race to replace outgoing Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff on election night, dispatching Republican Trish DeBerry by a margin of nearly 20%. Sakai, a longtime district judge, will be the first new Bexar County Judge since Wolff took over the position more than 20 years ago. Bexar County District A orney Joe Gonzales won a similarly comfortable victory over his Republican challenger Marc LaHood.

The censure and vote of no confidence against Bravo came on the same day District 10 Councilmember Clayton Perry turned himself in to San Antonio police over his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run the weekend prior to Election Day. As of press time, council was scheduled to conduct a vote urging Perry to step down from his seat. — Abe Asher

— Jazmin Cazares

17, to the Texas Tribune following the reelection of Gov. GregAbbott. Cazares’9-year-old sister Jacklyn was killed at Robb Elementary.

San Antonio City Council censured and issued a vote of no confidence against District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo last week. The vote was taken in response to a personal tirade Bravo directed at Councilwoman Ana Sandoval during a September meeting. An independent investigator found that Bravo’s conduct toward Sandoval, a former romantic partner, violated the city’s rules on harassment and violence in the workplace.

“Unfortunately, 21 people dead doesn’t change people’s minds.”

ASSCLOWN ALERT

WIkimedia Commons / Daniel Oberhaus

Michael Karlis

Recovery Route

San Antonio man running across Texas to raise money for sober-living program

BY ABE ASHER

Kenneth Anderlitch started running several years ago on a whim. Just to get away from his phone after a bad breakup. “I quit smoking cigare es just a week or two before, and [a friend and I] ran from SAC to the Tower of the Americas and back, and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘Here I am running, and I’m not looking at my girlfriend’s Facebook,’” Anderlitch said.

The 34-year-old San Antonio native hasn’t stopped running since. Two years ago, he hoofed it 223 miles to support ChildSafe, a local nonprofit that provides support and services for child survivors of abuse.

This year, on Nov. 25, he’ll take on an even more daunting challenge — running the entire width of Texas, starting in El Paso and ending in Logansport, Louisiana, to raise money for the treatment and sober living program Pay It Forward.

“I’m not very good at school, but I do it,” Anderlitch said. “I feel like sometimes I’m not always the best at my job, because I can’t remember stuff all the time. And when it comes to dating, I suck. But when it comes to running, that’s something that comes so natural.”

Despite his affinity for running, Anderlitch understands his trek across the Lone Star State will be grueling. He plans to travel 50 miles daily for three weeks to complete it, stuffing ice in his shirt and shorts to keep his body temperature down.

“I’m going to go through pain,” he said. “It’s just a ma er of, how much pain can I endure?”

Anderlitch has already endured plenty of pain in his life. He had a turbulent childhood and started using drugs and alcohol at the age of 14. When he was 20, his mother, who used prescription drugs heavily when he was a teen, died of an overdose.

When Anderlitch returned home after his mother’s funeral, a constable knocked on his door, arrested him for not paying a ticket and took him to jail. It was a sign of things to come as the rudderless young man struggled with addiction and homelessness. He spent several years in prison, overdosed 10 times and got used to what it feels like to be on the overdose treatment Narcan: “Like you have a cold.”

Critical help

Anderlitch wanted to stop using, but he struggled to break the cycle. Six years ago, he completed a rehabilitation program, then moved into the sober living space at Pay It Forward.

Finding such a sanctuary was critical, he said, noting that the period directly after completing a rehabilitation program can be the most challenging for

people in recovery. Many don’t have steady streams of income, structure or even places to live.

“There’s been treatment for a long time,” Pay It Forward CEO Hamilton Barton said. “But where does someone go, especially someone that was homeless before they got to treatment? They certainly weren’t working on a new house while they were trying to just save their ass.”

Some people who don’t have a place to live move back in with their families, but those environments aren’t always conducive to sober living. Sometimes, families don’t even want to welcome a person in recovery back into the home, Anderlitch said.

“Let’s just [take] somebody who has been strung out on heroin for five, 10 years and then goes to rehab for two months — do you really want that individual back in your house at that time, just from two months away?” he asked. “With recovery, it takes time, it takes perseverance.”

Anderlitch credits his months at Pay It Forward — where he got a driver’s license and a job while living under curfew — as critical in his recovery.

“There was a camaraderie, because we all had to do that,” he added.

Quiet confidence

Pay It Forward’s assistance doesn’t stop immediately after people move out of the sober living facility, either. The program covers the first two weeks of

participants’ stays at other sober living houses, giving participants a bridge between their services and what comes next. More than 90% of people who receive a free stay for their first two weeks in a sober house are still at the sober house after three months, according to Barton.

It’s a path Anderlitch knows well. He’s now in his sixth year working at the homelessness nonprofit Haven for Hope. What’s more, he received his associates degree and is hoping to begin working toward a social work degree at Texas State University in coming months.

Throughout his journey, Anderlitch has remained markedly humble. He describes himself as “one of the laziest athletes you could come across,” someone who doesn’t like ge ing up early and eats Hot Cheetos “all the time.”

But Barton said there’s more to it than that.

“He’s not loud, he’s not boastful, he’s not any of that stuff,” Barton said of the runner. “He’s always just si ing in the corner with a smile on his face. But, as I’ve watched him grow six or seven years, he’s a guy who just really walks with a very quiet confidence.”

Anderlitch said he’s looking forward to running through the Guadalupe Mountains, but, with his characteristic humility, he pointed to Waco — the halfway point on the journey — as the place he’s most looking forward to seeing.

“If I get there and decide to quit, at least it’s not such a long way home,” he said.

Facebook / Kenneth Anderlitch

Despite Beto O’Rourke’s defeat, there’s reason for San Antonio progressives to celebrate the last election cycle

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

Editor’s

Note: Current Events is a column of opinion and analysis.

For San Antonio-area progressives — and even moderates — last Tuesday, Nov. 8’s election results were dispiriting to watch as they rolled in.

After leaning hard right on just about every issue he could, Republican Gov. Greg Abbo was rewarded with an 11-point victory over challenger Beto O’Rourke. What’s more, every statewide office in Texas remained red — including that of A orney General Ken Paxton, who faces a securities fraud indictment and an FBI investigation into claims he abused his office.

Democrats will no doubt spend the months trying to figure out what went wrong and how to retool their messaging. But here’s the most basic assessment: Texas’ rural counties keep breaking for the GOP. The state’s much-vaunted demographic changes just aren’t moving fast enough to collapse the state’s so-called “red wall.”

Even so, this election was about more than Abbo and the statewide ticket — even though the consensus among political observers is that O’Rourke’s presence on the ticket energized Democrats enough to bring local victories in urban areas.

Indeed, there were wins for SA-area progressives to

celebrate. Let’s run them down.

1. The midterms were an irrefutable rebuke to Trumpism.

Nationally, the midterms were a history-defying event. On average, the party holding the White House loses 40 seats in the first cycle after a presidential election. Not so this time. Not even close. The Senate didn’t flip, and at press time, it even looked like there was an outside possibility the House might stay in Democratic control.

“Right now, Donald Trump is about two feet shorter than he was before Tuesday night,” Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said. “I don’t think you can see the outcome as anything else but a strong rebuke for the former president.”

2. Republicans proved they couldn’t buy votes from South Texas Latinos.

After Joe Biden underperformed in parts of South Texas, Republican pundits predicted big wins with Latino voters along the border this cycle. Nope. Despite flooding the airwaves with tens of millions of dollars in a ack ads, the best the GOP could do

was win Texas’ 15th Congressional District, which had been redrawn to make it far more Republican-friendly. Despite massively funded challenges, Democrats U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, 28th District, and Vicente Gonzalez, 34th District, both won their races.

“Tonight, Texas Republicans will tell you that picking up TX-15 shows that they’re gaining ground with Hispanics in South Texas,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said as the results rolled in. “Let me be clear: that’s complete bullshit. The facts of the ma er remain that Texas Republicans literally redrew TX-15 to be less Hispanic and more white — and they redrew it to become a district that was statistically guaranteed to go Republican.”

3. Marijuana reformers had a big day, and more are in the works.

During the midterms, five Texas cities voted to decriminalize low-level pot possession. Ground Game Texas — the progressive organizing group behind Austin’s recent decriminalization vote — worked with local activists to put similar initiatives on the ballot in Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos. And voters in all five cities approved.

That’s encouraging for the organizers of a San Antonio petition drive who are also working with Ground Game Texas to collect the 20,000 signatures needed to let local voters decide whether to amend the city charter to decriminalize weed. Expect similar initiatives to sprout up across the state.

“I think those votes bode well for San Antonio,” said Ananda Tomas, executive director of police accountability group Act 4 SA, one of the organizations spearheading the local drive. “I think San Antonio voters are ready to decriminalize and have been ready to decriminalize for some time now.”

4. Dems won big in San Antonio — and in other big Texas cities.

On election night, two of the most-watched Bexar County races went to Democrats. Peter Sakai decisively won his bid to follow outgoing Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, also a Democrat.

Reform-minded Bexar County District A orney Joe Gonzales was reelected over an opponent who regurgitated the same tough-on-crime rhetoric used by Republicans through the rest of the country this cycle.

In less-noticed Bexar election outcomes, Democratic candidates replaced the county’s four remaining Republican district judges in the contest, leaving Dems in control of every one of its judgeships.

No red wave came to Texas’ other big Democrat-controlled cities either. In one of the mostwatched challenges in a major urban area, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo — considered a Democratic rising star — beat down a Republican opponent backed with an unprecedented war chest. That same seat was held by the GOP just four years ago.

The outcomes of those local races suggest that while Texas isn’t yet purple, that day is coming, Jillson said.

“The future of Texas lies in the growth of its major cities and in its Hispanic and Asian populations,” he said.

Sanford Nowlin

Last week’s election shows politicos’ eagerness to fearmonger about crime instead of averting it

BY KEVIN SANCHEZ

Editor’s Note: Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.

While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” — Eugene Debs, 1918

As the post-mortems of the midterms roll in, one issue conspicuously sticks out as responsible for GOP gains, underwhelming though they may prove to be. That issue is crime.

Gov. Greg Abbo scare-paigned on a steady drip of “rainbow fentanyl” and crime and “open borders” and crime and “defund the police” and — you guessed it — crime. In lockstep, rightwing media’s sensationalized crime coverage shot up like a rocket in the months prior to Election Day. Nationally, Republicans spent a flabbergasting $157 million on crime-related political ads, analysis firm AdImpact found.

In the runup to the election, “The Sanchez Household” received a glossy mailer from the clumsily named Protecting Americans Project Action Fund. “George Soros spent over $1 million to elect a District A orney who ignores the law and allows criminals to walk free,” went its ominous warning. In the Express-News on the Sunday before Election Day, the city’s police union followed suit with a full-page ad stating, “We don’t need District A orney Joe Gonzales pu ing violent criminals back on the streets any longer.”

Fortunately, the smears didn’t stick. Gonzales won a decisive reelection victory.

While 94% of San Antonians are satisfied with our public libraries, firefighters and emergency medical services, according to a biennial survey commissioned by the city, just 72% of us are satisfied with the police. Still, that’s a full eight points higher than in 2018, before grassroots organizations such

as Act 4 SA pushed for department reforms in the wake of tens of millions of activists marching against police brutality and systemic racism. In response, Police Chief William McManus, to his credit, banned no-knock warrants and chokeholds. He also pressed for greater discretion in keeping cops with histories of misconduct off the force.

Perhaps the first mistake when discussing this issue is to pretend that holding police accountable and fighting crime are separate conversations. If the public doesn’t trust law enforcement, we’re less likely to volunteer vital crime-stopping information. After the murder of George Floyd, for example, 911 calls plummeted. Would you want to be the bystander who phones the cops, only to watch a fistfight or pe y theft escalate into yet another fatal shooting of an unarmed civilian?

During the campaign, Gonzales’ failed challenger, criminal defense lawyer Marc LaHood, specifically targeted the Democratic DA’s nuanced position on bail reform. On any given day, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans languishing in jail for no other reason than they can’t afford bail. They haven’t been convicted, haven’t been demonstrated to be a flight risk or a community danger; they’re just too broke to get out. And among the easiest campaign tactics is to bombard voters with cherry-picked anecdotes of those who were released on their own recognizance then went on to commit worse offenses.

But the bigger picture paints a far different story. For example, “none of the studies” in a 50-state landscape analysis conducted by Sandra Susan Smith for the John F. Kennedy School of Government “found that bail reforms led to a meaningful increase in crime.” Instead, that analysis showed there was

“no significant change in the rearrest rate among people on pretrial release.”

Over in Houston, Paul Heaton’s research for the Qua rone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice determined that a 2017 district court injunction requiring that most people in Harris County charged with misdemeanors be released pre-trial “reduced the system’s imprint without adversely impacting public safety.” Indeed, it resulted in no spike in crime. When following up three years later, Heaton even observed “modest, negative, and statistically significant decreases in overall crime.”

But research like that doesn’t make for voter-grabbing campaign ads.  Unfortunately, during election season, even leftists fall into the Willie Horton trick bag.

“As a progressive myself, it’s been frustrating to see members of my political group drop the ball,” Ana Kasparian wrote in Newsweek this month. After blaming progressive politicos and activists for “downplaying the crime wave,” she quoted a Pew Research Center survey showing that “81% of Black registered voters say violent crime is very important to their midterm vote.”

But that same survey cited the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the FBI as both reporting “no recent increase in the U.S. violent crime rate.” Turns out, “2021, the most recent year with available data, was statistically unchanged from the year before — below pre-pandemic levels and far below the rates recorded in the 1990s,” it continued.

What’s missing from these takes, and what seems to require more foresight than goldfish-memory electoral cycles will permit, is any a ention to the root causes of crime.

For every dollar we spend on early childhood education, on urban renewal, on affordable housing, on removing violence-inducing lead from kids’ environments, we could save plenty on cops and prisons down the road. The

recent uptick in murders has been universally decried but seldom mentioned in the same breath as the ungodly flood of guns into our cities.

Twenty years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs — not just the devil’s weed that the Texas GOP can’t bring itself to countenance. Today, Portugal’s rate of fatal overdoses is 1/50th of what ours is. Meanwhile, in Norway, where the prisons appear downright cozy compared to our housing projects, the recidivism rate is 20%; ours is 80%.

Since 1990, cops in the United Kingdom fatally shot 79 people. Cops here routinely kill that many in a single month. As a civilization, are we somehow inferior to the Portuguese, the Norwegians or the English?

If you believe second chances and social democracy are be er solutions to crime than vicious social control on the cheap, there’s currently no viable party for you in the United States. But even that grants too much dignity to the Democrat and Republican pissing contest over who’s the most punitive. Because what crimes are the middle class supposed to lock their doors in fear of?

Not fossil fuel companies violating EPA regulations with impunity and polluting our air and water, which results in far more deaths than all the murders combined. Not wage theft, which Alec Karakatsanis, executive director of the Civil Rights Corps, pointed is “a problem about five times the magnitude of shoplifting.”

“What is robbing a bank compared to founding one?” playwright Bertolt Brecht once asked.

Well, what is the most heinous act of an individual criminal compared to the crime of locking 2 million human beings in cages? At least 22 prisoners have died in Houston jails this year.

When will we demand leaders who stop bragging about throwing ever more of our fellow citizens in the dungeon?

YouTube Screen Capture / Greg Abbott

San Antonio’s Alamodome and AT&T Center mistakes

offer warnings as leaders consider a new ballpark

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS

Editor’s Note: CityScrapes is a column of opinion and analysis.

San Antonio civic and business leaders have spoken for years about the need for a new minor league ballpark to replace aging Nelson Wolff Stadium.

Now, with the purchase of the San Antonio Missions by a group headed by downtown property owner Graham Weston on the horizon, that new sports facility — likely located somewhere downtown — is far closer to reality. As a deal looms, it would be a good time to look back on how the Alamo City has built its existing sports facilities, such as they are, and ask whether we can learn lessons that let us do a be er job this time around.

Let’s start by going back to the mid-1980s, when then-Mayor Henry Cisneros dreamed of creating a domed stadium — a site suitable for the NFL team that was surely to be gifted to San Antonio. The obvious barrier was where to find the $150 million to $200 million required to build such a facility. Cisneros proposed a restaurant tax, neatly shot down by local restaurant owners. Then there was the promise of financing from a private developer — a developer a racted by all the new visitors and economic opportunity the Alamodome would draw. When that idea sank, Cisneros aide Robert Marbut proposed using a portion of the sales tax available to VIA Metropolitan Transit.

The VIA sales tax scheme had a major problem, though. It required the approval of the Texas Legislature. And while the legislature ultimately blessed San Antonio’s tax deal, it insisted that the plan go to local voters for approval. Understandably, state politicos didn’t want to take the heat for raising taxes here.

While the legislature’s insistence on a vote might have been an easy out for

lawmakers, it represented a victory for popular democracy. After all, such a big public investment in a sports facility should be required to face voter scrutiny and vigorous debate.

And that’s a big lesson as we face a Missions ballpark proposal: if it involves public dollars, the public should have the opportunity to vote on that spending and have a hand in deciding how it will be doled out.

However, there’s yet another lesson to be learned from the Alamodome saga, a lesson that involves location and site selection. The choice of the dome site wasn’t the product of an independent planning process advised by outside consultants and informed by the experience and outcomes in other cities. Instead, it represented Cisneros’ personal choice, largely shaped by his desire to sell the dome to the public as a “multipurpose convention and sports facility.” That meant it needed to be close to the convention center. Building on the old Alamo Iron Works site appeared to offer a neat solution that would provide the proximity while allowing the city to strike a deal with a single owner.

Except the site had long been used as a metal fabrication and distribution plant, complete with underground storage tanks. The contaminated property became the source of a scandal the local media dubbed “dome dirt.” Cleanup required extra millions and resulted in a legal morass. Had the location been thoroughly ve ed, San Antonio might have avoided that pricy debacle. We also might have ended up with a site that delivered on the economic benefits promised to the area.

Se ing the clock forward, the development of the San Antonio Spurs’ AT&T Center offers its own set of

lessons.

House Bill 72 offered Texas communities the opportunity to pay for new sports facilities with taxes on hotel rooms and car rentals, making it possible to sell new stadiums and arenas as being effectively free to local taxpayers. But there was a catch — the voters had to approve the deals and the new taxes. So, in this case, at least we had serious public discussion of what the San Antonio Spurs wanted.

But the same state legislation that created the AT&T Center’s funding mechanism allowed a variety of local governments to build sports venues. As a result, the governments of both San Antonio and Bexar County offered competing proposals to the Spurs. The city plan proposed by Mayor Howard Peak would have put the new arena in the south parking lot of the Alamodome, where the two facilities could support each other and potentially boost downtown’s fortunes. The county offered a location by the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum, which it owned. It was cheap and conveniently located near not much of anything.

The Spurs — with a kiss from owner Peter Holt to then-County Judge Cyndi Krier — took the county’s generous

deal, and we all lost the opportunity to get a sports venue that would spur new development. Again, if only there had been a thoroughly ve ed plan.

The lessons for San Antonio City Council and Bexar County Commissioners Court when it comes to the Missions’ ballpark gambit should be clear.

First, the public deserves the right to decide if a new sports venue, downtown or elsewhere, is our most pressing public investment need. Second, there must be serious planning and public discussion before any investment of public money. We need planning informed by the best outside experts rather than a hireling determined to make the best case for forging ahead with the project.

Finally, the choice of site and the ultimate deal — including a major financial commitment from team ownership — must be based on reality, not a this-is-the-first-step-in-a-major-leaguebaseball-future fantasy propagated by local boosters. San Antonio has heard those promises before, and they have yet to pan out.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Wikimedia Commons / Michael Barera

Azteca de América. $20-$30, 8 p.m., Guadalupe Theater, 1301 Guadalupe St., (210) 271-3151, guadalupeculturalarts.org. — Marco Aquino

ARTPACE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST-INRESIDENCE EXHIBITIONS

From reconceptualizing everyday objects to tracing queer lineage to exploring the complexities of self-governance and authority, this fall’s Artpace International Artist-in-Residence exhibitions are conceptually wide-reaching. At the opening, a endees can meet the three artists — JD Pluecker (Houston), K8 Hardy (Fort Worth/New York) and María José Crespo (Tijuana/Ro erdam) — all of whom have been creating new work since arriving at Artpace in late September. The culmination of their projects will be celebrated in this opening reception, which includes an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. The exhibitions will be on view through Jan. 8, 2023. Free, 6-9 p.m., Artpace, 445 N. Main Ave., (210) 2124900, artpace.org. — Ashley Allen

SOY MALINTZIN

Often referred to as the mother of modern Mexico, Malintzin — or La Malinche as she was also known — was an enslaved indigenous girl who served as Hernán Cortés’ linguistic and cultural interpreter. Malintzin is now the subject of an original production titled Soy Malintzin, a con temporary dance performance by the Guadalupe Dance Company, with choreographic work by Juan Carlos Gaytan of Colima, Mexico. The pro duction reimagines Malintzin’s controversial role as mother of Cortés’ first-born son and a key figure in the fall of the Aztec Empire. Malintzin is both revered and reviled, providing fodder and inspiration for artists and writers throughout the centuries. First seen as a traitor to her peo ple for siding with the Spanish, Malintzin was later redeemed as a hero by Chicano artists, who viewed her through the eyes of self-empower ment. The production is commissioned by the San Antonio Museum of Art and inspired by the exhibition “Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche,” currently on view at the museum. “SAMA relishes the opportunity to learn and work in conjunction with our community leaders to present a robust calendar of events for all ages that comple ments this multifaceted exhibition and illustrates Malinche’s relevance to our city and culture,” said SAMA Director Emily Ballew Neff. Gua dalupe Dance Company, known for its folklórico and flamenco dance programming to preserve both Latino and Native American culture, seems to be an ideal fit for the exploration of the iconic figure. For this performance, the dance company will be accompanied by Mariachi

FRI | 11.18SAT | 11.19

CLASSICAL MUSIC SAN ANTONIO PHILHARMONIC

The San Antonio Philharmonic’s latest concert will take listeners to inhospitable climes — from the frozen slopes of the South Pole to the far reaches of the solar system. Under the direction of guest conductor Christopher Wilkins, the orchestra will perform Ralph Vaughan Wil liams’ Sinfonia Antartica, which is derived from a score the composer wrote to accompany the film Sco of the Antarctic, a chronicle of Capt. Robert Falcon Sco ’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition. The Philharmonic will pair Sinfonia Antartica with a video created by Natural History New Zealand that features footage of the Antarctic landscape as well as film and photographic images from historic voyages to the continent,

including Sco ’s tragic trek. Rounding out the program is Gustav Holst’s seven movement suite The Planets. If that number seems wrong, it’s because the composer left out Earth and couldn’t include Pluto because it had yet to be discovered. Influenced by myth and astrology, Holst’s Planets have remained steadfast in the popular imagination, from the inexorable, marching ostinato in “Mars, the Bringer of War” to the soaring melodies that mark “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity.” $30$65, 7:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 515 McCullough Ave., (210) 201-6006, saphil.org. — Kelly Nelson

FRI | 11.18MON | 01.16

SPECIAL EVENT ROTARY ICE RINK

As San Antonio gears up for a third La Niña winter in a row bringing dry and warm holiday weather, this annual downtown ice rink is preparing its own return for cool visitors. The Rotary Ice Rink will open its gates to skaters starting the Friday before Thanksgiving. Both the graceful and unbalanced can fight inflation with Cheap Skate Night Tuesdays or discounted Military Mondays, dine al fresco with Food Truck Fridays or enjoy live jazz during Date Night Wednesdays. Other themed nights are listed on the rink’s website. As in prior years, the Rotary Club of San Antonio is asking all visitors to purchase admission online. $14 (includes skate rental), 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday, Travis Park, 301 E. Travis St., (210) 222-8242, rotaryicerink.com. — Karly Williams

SAT | 11.19

ART LUMINARIA CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL

Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival is once again poised to give downtown a glow up. Showcasing more than 200 artists across a footprint that stretches from the Tobin Center to Travis Park, Luminaria 2022’s light will shine far and bright across three music stages and one for film. The free festival’s contemporary artworks and performances also will include dance, installation art, digital art, projections, music, fashion, film, fine art, poetry and performance art. Featured artists include Abel Zuñiga, Of the Serpent Collective, Eddie Vega, Piñata Protest, Nain Leon, Teoría de Gravedad and more. This year’s curators are Benjamin Crowley, Nigel Cunningham Williams, Adrian De La Cruz,

David Machada

Courtesy Photo / San Antonio Philharmonic

JD Pluecker / Courtesy of Artpace

Michael Cirlos, Centro

and Satara. Free, 6 p.m.-midnight, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts (100 Auditorium Circle) to Travis Park (301 E. Travis St.), (210) 721-1670, luminariasa.com. — AA

ART THE IMMERSIVE NUTCRACKER: A WINTER MIRACLE

The Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle offers an experience that allows children of all ages to fulfill their childhood desires to become a dancer or one of the fanciful characters in the classic holiday ballet. This floor-to-ceiling projection follows the similar Immersive Van Gogh and will take the stage before Immersive Disney premieres in January. Visitors to The Immersive Nutcracker can dance through 500,000 cubic feet of projections divided into five fantastical worlds, mingling with animated characters and dancers Denis Rodkin and Eleonora Sevenard. The ballet itself is an adaptation of E.T.A Hoffman’s 1816 fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” and incorporates music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This immersive take on the classic is produced by Corey Ross, Svetlana Dvoretsky and Slava Zheleznyakov in partnership with Storywall Entertainment. $26.99-$44.99, various times and days, Lighthouse Artspace, 221 Burleson St., immersive-nutcracker.com/san-antonio. — AA

SAT | 11.19

SPECIAL EVENT YANAGUANA INDIAN ARTS FESTIVAL

This annual gathering invites visitors to take in drum circles with pow wow-style dancing, artist demonstrations, storytelling and hands-on crafting while sampling Native American-inspired cuisine from San Antonio food truck REZ’Rvation Only. Named in honor of the Payaya people, the original inhabitants of the San Antonio area, this festival celebrates modern and traditional Native American cultures and practices and their lasting influence on the American West. “Yanaguana” is the Payayan word for the San Antonio River. The all-day event will open with a spiritual blessing and close with a native flute performance by artist, educator and performer Tim Blueflint. Along with the family-friendly festivities, attendees can explore the museum’s collection free of charge. Free, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 299-4499, briscoemuseum.org. — Macks Cook

TUE | 11.22

MUSIC LINDSEY STIRLING

Dancer, choreographer, hip-hop violinist and songwriter Lindsey Stirling first made waves in 2006 as a contestant on Season Five of America’s Got Talent. Years after cementing her spot as a quarter-finalist on the hit NBC show, she’s back on the road with a globetro ing tour to promote her new holiday album Snow Waltz. San Antonio will be the classically trained artist’s fifth Texas stop, straight off a series of European dates. $59.50-$408.50, 7:30 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — KW

Reminder: Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Gabi Magaly

Courtesy Photo / Briscoe Western Art Museum

Jaime Monzon

Patrick Hodgson

Courtesy Photo / Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Cristela Alonzo

Maddy Smith

SPURS VS. LAKERS

LeBron James continues his historic pursuit of NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record when the Lakers tip-off the first of two consecutive games against the Spurs at the AT&T Center. After parting ways with head coach Frank Vogel over the summer, it’s been a rocky start for Los Angeles, who entered the season with a flawed roster and lofty aspirations. Based on current projections and barring injuries, James is expected to break the all-time scoring mark in January versus the Nets in Brooklyn, offering a silver lining to a cloudy campaign for the Lakers. San Antonio’s tandem of Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell has led the way in scoring for the youthful Spurs, a team that’s shown grit and perseverance in a rebuilding season. The Spurs have leaned heavily on Johnson and Vassell, particularly from beyond the arc, while ranking among the league leaders in team assists. Expect a warm reception for former Spur Lonnie Walker IV in his return to San Antonio. $49 and up, 7 p.m., AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, a center.com, KENS. — M. Solis

FRI | 11.25SUN | 12.18

THEATER

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MUSICAL

A cautionary tale for the ages, A Christmas Carol: The Musical follows Ebenezer Scrooge (Vincent Hardy), a selfish and curmudgeonly businessman with a seething hatred for the holiday season. One Christmas Eve, after rudely declining an invitation to his nephew’s Christmas party, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who lead him through the Christmases of his past, present and future. Scrooge revisits the miserable events of his childhood which catalyzed his December disdain, glimpses at the joyous holiday gatherings he has turned down and even witnesses his own lonely death. Terrified by what he sees, Scrooge sets out on a quest to change his destiny. This production by The Public Theater of San Antonio promises a heartwarming — and occasionally heartrending — journey of self-reflection which reminds us of the importance of opening our hearts to the holidays. $15-$45, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, The Public Theater of San Antonio, 800 W. Ashby Place, (210) 733-7258, thepublicsa.org. — Caroline WolFF

CRISTELA ALONZO

Trailblazing Latina comedian Cristela Alonzo’s South Texas roots have made her a San Antonio favorite. Known for her quick-wi ed observational humor, Alonzo got her big break after becoming a semi-finalist on the reality series Last Comic Standing in 2010. However, the Tejana comic is perhaps best known for her role 0n the ABC hit sitcom Cristela,

becoming the first Latina to create, write, produce and star in her own primetime comedy. Since then, she’s starred in her own Netflix special, Lower Classy, and is reportedly planning a return to television, collaborating with J.Lo on She Gets It From Me, a new series slated to air on CBS. $50-$140, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio. — Michael Karlis

FRI | 11.25SUN | 11.27

FILM

ANIMALIS FABULA FILM FESTIVAL

A film festival of a different breed is coming to downtown San Antonio. In Animalis Fabula, humans will take a step back, making room for the planet’s myriad other species to take the limelight. The festival will feature more than 45 films from creators across the globe, all of which are about or include animals. Throughout the weekend, organizers will screen the films in blocks at Slab Cinema Arthouse (134 Blue Star) and Blue Star Brewing Co. (1414 S. Alamo St. #105). On Saturday, Alamo City Studios (1113 E. Houston St.) will host a series of workshops and classes. Notable film selections include Cannes Golden Eye and Sundance

Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary All That Breathes — which depicts two brothers’ quest to protect the black kite bird in New Delhi — and the Texas premiere of Irish film Róise and Frank — which tells the story of a widow who bonds with a dog she believes is the reincarnation of her late husband. Others on the bill include San Antonio filmmaker Esmeralda Hernandez’s short “Dream Carriers” and The Message of the Lyrebird, a documentary about the enigmatic Australian bird species with an uncanny talent for mimicry. $20-$100, times vary, Nov. 25-27, Blue Star Arts Complex, 1414 S. Alamo St., animalisfabula.org. — KN

COMEDY

Spurs / Reginald Thomas II

Mia Isabella Photography

Courtesy Photo / LOL Comedy Club

Courtesy Photo / Animalis Fabula

SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL! Dr. Seuss’ classic Christmas story returns to our televisions every winter to remind both kids and adults of the importance of community and the poisons of materialism. Now, the story originally told in the 1957 children’s book by political cartoonist, poet and children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel is heading to San Antonio in musical form. Touring the U.S. since 2008, the 85-minute performance debuted in San Diego in 1998, with Vanessa Hudgens playing the tiny Cindy Lou Who. $45 and up, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — KW

WHITE CHRISTMAS

duo, they meet songbird sisters Be y (Laurel Neuhaus) and Judy Haynes (Kate Ragan Davis). Yearning for a yuletide romance with the sisters, Bob and Phil join them in their Christmas show at a quaint Vermont lodge, which just so happens to be owned by their former commander, General Waverly (Michael Cooling). Tensions rise as Bob and Phil discover that Waverly is in financial ruin and at risk of being forced to close his inn. They resolve to do their best to help him get back on his feet. Directed by Lizel Sandoval and featuring beloved musical numbers like “I Love a Piano,” “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” and, of course, the timeless classic “White Christmas,” this Woodlawn Theatre production celebrates the spirit of love and selflessness so fondly associated with the holiday season. The show’s nearly one-month run includes a handful of Community Appreciation Nights: Student Night on Nov. 26, ASL Night on Dec. 9, and Pride Night on Dec. 16. $18-$32, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sun, Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 267-8388, woodlawntheatre.org. — CW

FRI | 11.25

SPECIAL EVENT FORD HOLIDAY RIVER PARADE

Returning for its 41st year, the Ford Holiday River Parade is back with the theme of “Tastes and Traditions Around the World.” The Grand Marshal for this year’s festivities is a mean one: Mr. Grinch, who can be

seen at the Majestic Theatre in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! the following week. The parade will feature 28 themed floats and more than 100,000 lights illuminating the river the day after Thanksgiving. Naturally, the grand finale is seeing Santa himself on the final float. While this event is ticketed, limited free seating is available between Pecan Street and Richmond Avenue. The event also will also be broadcast live at 7 p.m. from the Arneson River Theatre on CW35. $15-$40, 6-9 p.m., San Antonio River Walk, 849 E. Commerce St., thesanantonioriverwalk. com. — Macks Cook

Courtesy Photo / Woodlawn Theatre

Courtesy Photo / Majestic Theatre

Jaime Monzon

15 gift ideas for the art lovers on your list

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

In our annual a empt to divert your dollars away from e-tail giants and put them in the pockets of local artists, artisans and makers, we compiled a list of 15 homegrown gift ideas that range from books to baubles, prints to planters, and collages to “crying” flowerpots.

Sunday Market, the DIY duo prints their clowny merch old-school style — at home. “We’re trying to come up with a new design every week or so,” Lugo said. Terrified of clowns? Have no fear: they’re contemplating expanding their repertoire with yet another polarizing character: the mime. “Yeah, mimes are cool,” Lugo said without a hint of irony. $10, Brick Sunday Market (noon-5 p.m. Sundays), Brick at Blue Star, 108 Blue Star, (210) 262, 8653, instagram.com/clownheartstudios.

Green Thumb Gal planters

Denise Zapata scours thrift stores for vintage ceramic vessels to upcycle into quirky planters for her pop-up retail concept Green Thumb Gal. During a recent visit to her table at Brick Sunday Market, her wares included succulents and houseplants po ed in a camel teapot, a cowboy boot mug and a monkey cookie jar. Zapata prices her pieces depending on the size and age of the containers and selects plants she finds to be hearty. “I like to use low-maintenance plants,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to need to go buy a humidifier.” $20-$75, Brick Sunday Market (noon-5 p.m. Sundays), Brick at Blue Star, 108 Blue Star, (210) 262, 8653, instagram.com/green_thumbgal.

quotes pulled from interviews, conversations, lectures and her own text-based work. A keeper extracted from her Current interview with Gary Sweeney: “Be self-reliant, bold, risky, conniving, ambitious, and most of all, curious.” Sales of the book — which is sold via French & Michigan, Artpace and Slab Cinema Arthouse — benefit Pell’s daughter Bygoe Zubiate. $20, Slab Cinema Arthouse, 134 Blue Star, (210) 212-9373, slabcinemaarthouse.com.

LaChicharra beetle-wing earrings

An impressive collaboration between accomplished photographer Frederick R. Preston and decorated poet and author Carmen Tafolla, Arte del Pueblo takes a broad look at the Alamo City’s ever-evolving public art landscape. Released in October by Schiffer Publishing, the coffee table book celebrates the vibrant work of local organizations — San Anto Cultural Arts (SACA), Public Art San Antonio, Birds of a Feather and the San Antonio Street Art Initiative (SASAI) among them. All while exploring pervasive themes such as our waterways, Mexican American cultural identity, and ranching and military history. In addition to engaging photographs and insightful passages illustrating anything from SACA’s End Barrio Warfare mural to Margarita Cabrera’s immersive Árbol de Vida sculpture and even Bob “Daddy-O” Wade’s supersize cowboy boots, Arte del Pueblo includes artist spotlights and suggested routes for self-guided tours. $39.99, The Twig Book Shop, 306 Pearl Parkway, (210) 826-6411, thetwig.com.

Clown Heart Studios totes

San Antonio creatives Edgar Castañeda and Kassidy Lugo channel their shared love for clowns into the aptly named Clown Heart Studios — a homegrown outfit specializing in screen-printed T-shirts and totes. Regulars at Brick

KatiePell:AllSheHadtoSay

Although best celebrated for her free-spirited take on contemporary art — which is represented in the collections of the McNay Art Museum, Ruby City and the San Antonio Museum of Art — late San Antonio artist Katie Pell (1965-2019) had a distinct and irreverent way with words. Compiled by Slab Cinema co-founder Angela Martinez and published by San Antonio-based studio French & Michigan, this slim but impactful volume includes a poignant introduction by esteemed local poet Jenny Browne, a portrait of the artist by photographer Ramin Samandari and

When Corpus Christi native Connie Zamorano went away to college in North Carolina, the sound of cicadas singing brought her a surprising sense of solace. “It was the only familiar thing,” she said during our recent visit at Brick Sunday Market. That experience played a key role in LaChicharra — an accessories line that’s inspired by cicadas but welcomes other insects into the fold. Among Zamorano’s creations are enamel firefly pins that glow in the dark, Luna moth stickers and delicate earrings she crafts from iridescent beetle wings and upcycled findings. $20, Brick Sunday Market (noon-5 p.m. Sundays), Brick at Blue Star, 108 Blue Star, (210) 262, 8653, etsy.com/shop/lachicharra.

Arte del Pueblo: The Outdoor Public Art of San Antonio

Bryan Rindfuss

Courtesy photo / Clown Heart Studios

Bryan Rindfuss

Bryan Rindfuss

Bryan Rindfuss

Little Shop of Hollies hand-painted T-shirts

With a thoughtful eye on the environmental impact of textile production, Abilene-based artist Hollie Brown transforms pre-existing materials into wearable works of art she sells under the umbrella of Li le Shop of Hollies. Stocked locally by the smartly curated shop at Artpace, the upcycled T-shirts she adorns with hand-painted pa erns and designs can be boxy, oversized, even cropped — making them particularly relevant in a fashion landscape increasingly inspired by the 1990s. $85-$100, Artpace, 445 N. Main Ave., (210) 2124900, artpace.org.

for purchase at Curator Coffee, Foerster will also be giving some away during his forthcoming exhibition at Brick at Blue Star on Dec. 2. $50, Curator Coffee, 2923 Thousand Oaks Drive, Suite 4, (210) 538-5155, curator coffee. com.

Michelle Trahan Carson collages

Born in South Louisiana and based in San Antonio, Michelle Trahan Carson is a self-described “history junkie” who creates imaginative collages and encaustic paintings based on vintage ephemera. A prominent fixture in design maven D’E e Cole’s Austin Highway emporium GOOD goods, Carson’s whimsical work encompasses collages that range from greeting-card size to frame-worthy wall art — and a fair amount of it marries nostalgic food items with fashionable beauties plucked from the Atomic Age. $35-$275, GOOD goods, 1055 Austin Highway, (210) 606-7334, goodgoodstx.com.

gets authentically restored. $32.99, The Twig Bookshop, 306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 106, (210) 826-6411, thetwig.com.

Michael Guerra Foerster ‘crying’ flower pots

San Antonio-based ceramic artist Michael Guerra Foerster takes a decidedly untraditional approach to selling his work. During his 2022 Artpace exhibition “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” he gave his work away to anyone who pulled an arcade-style ticket from the mouth of one of his cartoonish creations. While his latest ceramic offering — a flowerpot that “cries when watered” — is available

Miraflores: San Antonio’s Mexican Garden ofMemory

A labor of love six years in the making, writer Anne Elise Urrutia’s Trinity University Press book Miraflores employs archival photographs, maps, diagrams and a research-driven narrative to offer a virtual tour of the sprawling garden her great-grandfather Aureliano Urrutia began creating in 1921. Once do ed with impressive fountains, talavera benches, monumental sculptures and trabajo-rústico fixtures, Miraflores sadly decayed through changes in ownership over decades. Although the enigmatic landmark has been owned by the City of San Antonio since 2006 and cited as having “great potential as a restoration candidate,” Urrutia painstakingly recreated it in book form in case it never

Not for You Gallery prints and paintings

Echoing the irreverent, DIY roots of the Blue Star Arts Complex itself, Not for You Gallery proudly showcases lowbrow, alternative and street-inspired works that are — fi ingly — not for everyone. Regardless of the work on display in the gallery, there’s always an impulse-buy display of smartly priced prints and paintings by the likes of proprietors Ursula Zavala and Edward Perez along with likeminded co-conspirators such as Connie Chapa, Mauro De La Tierra, Fernando Lopez, Justin French and Abel Aguirre. $10-$100, Not for You Gallery, The Upstairs Studios at Blue Star, 1420 S. Alamo St., Studio 215, notforyougallery. com.

arts

San Antonio landmark ornaments

With the 2017 opening of their Olmos Park flagship Feliz Modern, Mario and Ginger Diaz broke into the San Antonio retail market with flying colors. Since then, the married duo has expanded into two locations at the Pearl: the candy-colored Feliz Modern Pop and its grown-up sister Rancho Diaz, which offers a curated assortment of housewares, Mexican

Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com

Bryan Rindfuss

Bryan Rindfuss

Courtesy photo / Michael Guerra Foerster

Bryan Rindfuss

Bryan Rindfuss

artsimports, gifts and vintage finds. Always ready to celebrate and decorate, the duo went all in this year by designing and fabricating a suite of eight papel picado-inspired holiday ornaments modeled after the San Antonio Missions, the River Walk, the Pearl and the Tower of the Americas. $17.95 each, Feliz Modern, 110 W. Olmos Drive, (210) 622-8364, felizmodern.com.

Nelson A. Rockefeller Mexican Folk Art Collection. Directly inspired by a 1940s-era ceramic jar depicting a wide-eyed vaquero on horseback, Roberts’ contemporary adaptation is available in a circular design (shown) as well as a smaller post. $45-$60, San Antonio Museum of Art Gift Shop, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 9788100, samuseum.org.

‘Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche’ exhibition catalog

Organized by the Denver Art Museum and on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art through January 8, “Traitor, Survivor, Icon” offers an expansive examination of La Malinche — an enslaved indigenous girl who served as a translator for Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and eventually became the mother of his first-born son. The exhibition’s stranger-than-fiction storyline is reflected in works that span decades and artistic movements — from Jesús Helguera’s 1941 oil painting that appeared on countless calendars to San Antonio-born César Martínez’s 1988 rendition that draws parallels between La Malinche and the operatic seductress Carmen. $50, San Antonio Museum of Art Gift Shop, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100, samuseum.org.

McNay Art Museum Gift Shop, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5368, www.mcnayart.org.

Sarah T. Roberts earrings

Apt for a forward-thinking institution holding ancient relics, the San Antonio Museum of Art tasked local artist and educator Sarah T. Roberts with creating sterling silver earrings based on a piece from its

‘True Believers: Benny Andrews & Deborah Roberts’ exhibition catalog

Building on their shared subject ma er and distinct takes on collage, the McNay paired artists Benny Andrews (1930-2006) and Austin-based Deborah Roberts for “True Believers” — a dual exhibition on view through February 5. While Andrews focused on overlooked characters in tactile paintings that often incorporated fabric layers, Roberts is an admi ed Andrews fan who builds mixed-media stories rooted in childhood and Black life in the United States. $30,

Vacilando Studios quilts

Founded by self-taught crafter Laura Preston, Vacilando Studios is a Texas Hill Country-based operation that’s been applauded by the likes of Oprah Daily, New York Magazine and Architectural Digest. Launched as a mobile quilting studio, Vacilando has since expanded into a nationwide network of seamstresses who fuse old-school traditions and design-forward practices while creating covetable pillows, totes, wall hangings and jackets. $60-$1,195, vacilandostudios. com.

Courtesy photo / Feliz Modern

Courtesy photo / McNay Art Museum

Courtesy photo / Sarah T. Roberts

Courtesy photo / San Antonio Museum of Art

Courtesy photo / Vacilando Studios

arts

From the West Side to the National Team

San Antonio’s

Orlando Mendez-Valdez

escaped a rough upbringing to play pro hoops in Mexico

BY TOMMY ESCOBAR

When Orlando Mendez-Valdez a ended Tafolla Middle School in the late ’90s, he regularly got rides to his West Side home from his PE teacher.

Mendez-Valdez was so embarrassed of his family’s tiny, ramshackle house near Alazan Apache Courts that he’d ask to be dropped off a block away. At the time, basketball seemed like the only way to keep his mind off the violence, addiction and grinding poverty around him.

Since then, the sport has carried Mendez-Valdez, 36, far from his humble origins.

The athlete is now looking to close out a professional hoops career that will end with him playing in the inaugural season of the Mexico City Capitanes, the first Mexico-based team in the G League, the NBA’s 30-team minor league basketball organization.

The team’s inclusion in the G League means he’ll be able to play his first professional games in the United States, including two scheduled in Austin. Those games will be the first the PE teacher who used to drive him home — a man Mendez-Valdez now regards as a father figure — will get to see him play since 2009.

“It’s exciting being part of the first Mexican team affiliated with the NBA,” said Mendez-Valdez, a 15-year veteran of pro basketball. “Secondly, my father hasn’t seen me play in person since I was in college. Closing out my career, playing down the road from my hometown, ge ing my friends and family to see me play means the most.”

Mendez-Valdez’s decision to walk away from the game comes at the dawn of a new era in Mexican basketball — one for which he helped lay the foundation.

He helped lead the Mexican National team to a gold medal in the 2013 FIBA Americas championship — its first such win and its first qualification for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 40 years.

Aside from playing for the national

team, Mendez-Valdez excelled elsewhere, winning a league championship with the Soles de Mexicali in 2018. He earned MVP honors that year, which led to a year with the Capitanes in 2020.

The Capitanes were originally positioned to join the NBA’s G League that same year, but the pandemic delayed the team’s absorption into the league. Mendez-Valdez continued to play abroad, including a stint in Uruguay.

Although Mendez-Valdez’s age means he probably won’t have an abundance of court time during his first and final season in the G League, he’s excited to spend that time as a mentor to his younger teammates.

Mentor turned guardian

Before basketball paid the bills, Mendez-Valdez longed for a chance to escape an upbringing surrounded by violence and crime.

The upbringing was so gri y that Mendez-Valdez’s mother ultimately asked Abel Valdez, the Tafolla Middle School PE teacher who mentored him, to take custody of her son. The young Mendez-Valdez eventually adopted his guardian’s last name, hyphenating it with that of his mother.

“[Valdez] has been a pinnacle to my life, whether it’d be through sports, as a young adult to now: he’s a father figure to me,” Mendez-Valdez said. “At those stages, it was about being able to take myself out of my environment and away from my friends in that area, doing what they were doing ... .”

Although Mendez-Valdez spent hours on end shooting hoops at a nearby park as a sanctuary, it wasn’t until he entered Valdez’s guardianship that he was exposed to organized basketball. Participation in the sport helped him understand there was a world outside of his neighborhood.

“When he was in middle school, he had never really left the West Side,” Valdez said. “Taking him to the movies or somewhere like Marble Slab [Cream-

ery], to him, was just amazing. It just opened everything up to him. All he knew was just a li le section of the West Side.”

From WKU to Mexico

Mendez-Valdez continued to pursue team basketball, ultimately playing point guard for Lanier High School.

During that time, a visit to his mother’s home reinforced the importance of staying on track and pursuing his dream. An old friend from elementary school dropped by, looking to sell something for extra cash. He looked sickly, so emaciated he was barely recognizable.

It was a reminder to Mendez-Valdez that he too could have fallen into addiction had he not found basketball. When the young man left, Mendez-Valdez wept.

“Overall, I just hope my story gives hope,” Mendez-Valdez said. “My whole career is based on faith in myself and in God. I hope for those who come from similar circumstances as I did to see me and surpass me — to go further than me.”

Ultimately, Mendez-Valdez’s dedication to basketball helped him land an athletic scholarship to Western Kentucky University in 2005. His time with Lanier had made him the Express-News Player of the Year, and the high school retired his jersey in 2009 based on his

stellar career.

He graduated as a four-year student athlete with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. That same year, he got a call from the Golden State Warriors to play with its summer league. However, still recovering from a torn meniscus suffered his senior season, Mendez-Valdez took a pass for fear of doing further damage to his knee.

He also weighed an opportunity to play for the Austin Toros, now the Austin Spurs, but headed south of the border, where the pay was be er. He also considered the Mexican leagues a be er place to build his own legacy — and that turned out to be the case.

After his season with the Capitanes, Mendez-Valdez plans to return to San Antonio and get his real estate license. He looks forward to spending more time with his wife and two daughters.

But he doesn’t rule out returning to the sport that carried him away from his hardscrabble beginnings. Once his daughters are in college, he may seek a coaching or administrative role in basketball.

Until then, his farewell tour as a pro player will end on a historic note as the Capitanes bridge the gap between the NBA and Latin America.

“I never thought I would be able to take basketball this far, making it a career, a living,” he said. “I just want to be remembered as a fighter. I had a lot of hope — and I was a fighter.”

Courtesy Photo / Orlando Mendez-Valdez

arts Fired Up

Author and San Antonio native Violet Castro expands iconic science fiction-horror franchise with Aliens:Vasquez

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

Ever since she was a li le girl, San Antonio native Violet Castro has been a racted to horror. She wasn’t just reading books like Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark while in elementary school but being terrified by films such as The Exorcist and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

“I was scared, but I was also fascinated,” said Castro, 43.

After graduating from Clark High School in 1998, Castro left Texas to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia where she earned a degree in political science and history. She began working at a real estate investment trust and was making money to pay her bills and student loans. Over the years, however, Castro started to realize there was something missing.

“I didn’t really have that passion,” she said. “As the years wore on, it wasn’t fulfilling for me. I was missing that fire.”

Castro tapped into that fire when she started writing fiction about 15 years ago, leaning into her longtime love of horror. Her first book, Maria the Wanted and the Legacy of the Keepers, a vampire narrative she self-published in 2018, led her to pen others including Goddess of Filth, The Queen of the Cicadas and Hairspray and Switchblades.

Now, Castro has published her first book a ached to an already-established franchise. In the novel Aliens: Vasquez, Castro tells the origin story of Pvt. Vasquez, the Latina space marine played by actress Jene e Goldstein in the beloved 1986 science fiction-horror sequel Aliens.

Although moviegoers got to learn little about the tough-as-nails Vasquez’s history in the movie, Castro had the opportunity to create her backstory. Born to an immigrant family, Vasquez spends time running with a street gang and goes to prison before following in her mother’s footsteps and enlisting in the military. She has no idea fighting Xenomorphs will be part of her future. During our interview, Castro, who currently calls London home, talked about what drew her to a strong Latina character like Vasquez and the challenge of writing a story around material she couldn’t change.

Aliens: Vasquez was released on Nov. 8 by Titan Books.

What are some of the folklore stories you remember hearing growing up in San Antonio?

I heard all the urban legends. I grew up with all those stories. I had my mom take me to all the haunted spots in San Antonio. I would tell everyone about the ghost tracks and the baby powder. That always stuck in my mind. There was also La Llorona and La Lechuza.

What led you to write a novel about Pvt. Vasquez?

You know, our generation didn’t really get a lot of Latino representation in the media. As I got older and I started reading more, I realized that all these stories were wri en by white men. I also want to write the story of Anna (Elpidia Carrillo) from [the 1987 movie] Predator. We need those characters to be front and center. The time is now.

Is there room in the horror genre to write stories that speak to deeper themes rather than just focus on conventional horror elements?

Absolutely. In Aliens: Vasquez, there are Xenomorphs and, yeah, [Vasquez is] a badass, but I also wanted to touch on her upbringing and racial profiling. I wanted to talk about being a woman of color in something as male dominant as the Marines. So, I think there is room to entertain and to make a statement. Those things stick in your mind.

Did you feel any pressure because you were writing a spinoff for a franchise that has a mass fanbase? There were certain things that were wri en by [Aliens writer and director] James Cameron that I couldn’t change because they’re considered canon. So,

I had to work around them and build on what was already done. For me, it was more important to get the story right and to get her story out there in an authentic way and beyond what was already wri en about her.

So, you had to keep her red bandana. Well, I wanted to keep it. In the book, I tell you the origin story behind the red bandana.

Would you like to see Aliens: Vasquez adapted into a feature film or TV series?

I’d like to turn all my books into screenplays. I think [my 2023 novel] The Haunting of Alejandra would make an excellent movie. I would love to write the Aliens: Vasquez screenplay.

Kiko Martinez

Fighting Through

New documentary explores

UFC fighter Thug Rose’s personal journey in and out of the octagon

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

In the documentary Thug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist, filmmaker Marius Markevicius turns his camera on fighter Rose Namajunas, aka Thug Rose, as she climbs the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Namajunas — the child of Lithuanian immigrants — reins as one of the UFC’s most popular fighters and stands at No. 5 in its women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Although only five-foot-five and 115 pounds, she’s earned a rep as a fierce competitor with an unmatched desire to win.

Along with chronicling her career, Markevicius tells a deeply personal story about the two-time UFC Strawweight Champion, including her experience growing up in an abusive home, how she became an advocate for mental health and her talent as a concert pianist.

During an interview with the Current, Namajunas spoke about what kept her motivated to continue participating as the subject in a documentary that took five years to complete and whether she’d like to see her story made into a feature film. She also weighed in on what’s missing from other MMA movies.

Thug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist is currently available on UFC Fight Pass.

The documentary shows some vulnerable moments in your life. Was it easy to open up like that, or did it take time to feel comfortable telling your story?

It definitely was a challenge, but I wanted to push through. I remember, I went back to Lithuania after I lost the belt the first time and [the Minister of Foreign Affairs] Gabrielius Landsbergis showed up to one of my events to give a speech. He started talking about the importance of Lithuanians talking about our history because it isn’t well known. That inspired me to keep persevering through some of those tough moments.

As a disciplined athlete, did the filmmaking process ever get to you?

My No. 1 job is to always protect myself. So, anything else that doesn’t deal with that can be very distracting and dangerous. I just had to make sure I was doing that, but I also knew I wanted to keep telling my story. So, those

two things conflicted with one another, but I just navigated through it.

Having cameras on you for five years is a long time. If Marius asked you to go another couple of years, could you have done it?

I definitely think this is just the tip of the iceberg. If I could do it over again, I would have tried to push it even a li le more. I think leading up to the fight got harder as time went on. But I’m very thankful that we were able to get what we got. Maybe we can leave some for a part two.

Would you like to see your story adapted into a feature film?

Possibly. I mean, I don’t know. I guess I’m a li le biased. I think it’s a great story and very unique. I think what sets it apart from other stories in the MMA world is that it transcends the MMA community. It’s relatable to people that maybe wouldn’t watch MMA in the first place.

Are there any MMA movies that have captured the sport authentically or are we still waiting for one to be made?

I think we’re still waiting for one of those to happen. I’ve thought about that subject a lot. It’s such a unique thing being a fighter.

To put that into film form is tough. I feel like a lot of people have these assumptions and

clichéd thoughts about fighters. It’s not all doom and gloom. We all come from tough backgrounds, which a racts us to such a crazy sport. But there’s also a lot of great, fun times that none of these movies really portray. It’s always this dramatic, terrible story. I think it needs to be a li le balanced and show the highs and the lows.

In the film, you’re open about the abuse you experienced at a young age. What do you hope people take from those parts of the film that can help them in their own lives?

I hope that it inspires people who have had that experience or that can relate to it. Through forgiveness and a lot of soul searching, I think time heals all wounds. It’s still a long process, but to see where I’ve come from to get to the point where I’m at right now, I think that can really help a lot of people that are struggling. That’s my hope.

You’re the No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. Where do you go from here?

I just take one day at a time. This [documentary] has been such a big chapter in my life and all the things I went through filming it. So, I want to step back and get some closure. But I’m training and staying healthy. I want to let the dust se le a li le bit and then we’ll see where we are.

screens

Find more fi lm stories at sacurrent.com

Josh Hedges

Home Cooking for the Holidays

These San Antonio-made items will brighten any foodie’s season

BY NINA RANGEL

We’ve all got foodie friends who appreciate culinary gifts. Not just as stocking stuffers but as presents under their holiday tree.

When shopping for them this year, why not seek out San Antonio-area products for a truly special and off-the-beaten path food gift? You can spend locally while le ing your friend know you picked up something that required a li le more looking around than a quick stop by Sur la Table or another chain store.

Here are four different categories where San Antonio producers excel.

Stocking the pantry

San Antonians looking to liven up their culinary creations are fortunate to have locally produced spice options available to fortify their pantries. The fun part about discovering Alamo City-made blends is that you can usually chat with the chef who created them — and get pointers on their best uses.

Texas Black Gold Garlic (texasblackgoldgarlic.com), for example, is a regular presence at area farmers markets, where its heat-aged, caramelized garlic products have developed a strong following. These days, the Black Gold team also produces hot sauces, a wing sauce, seasoned sea salt and a versatile coffee-spice rub that can be used on all manners of proteins. Unsurprisingly, Texas Black Gold’s rub hits the palate with sweet, caramelized garlic flavor first, then opens up into rich pepper, cocoa and smoky notes.

Another SA spicemonger, chef Mona’s All Purpose Seasoning (mapsngs.com), offers a trio of spice blends inspired by chef

Mona Giroux’s Southern upbringing and her husband’s Caribbean background. Offered in original, mild and spicy heat levels, the blends can amp up proteins, veggies or even salty snacks such as popcorn or trail mix. Bonus: you can get all three spice levels in a gift box from the chef’s website.

Kitchen knives

Home cooks, whether novices or seasoned pros, need properly maintained equipment to whip up their best eats. While it can be intimidating to gift someone a high-quality implement such as a knife, shopping with knowledgeable local vendors can help you make an informed choice.

Justin Center (theknifeguysa.com) and Rodriguez Butcher Supply (homebutcher. com) are two San Antonio-based businesses that offer knife honing and sharpening, and the la er offer gift cards that can make great gifts for folks who cook at home.

Heavy duty wooden cu ing boards are also trending these days, but if you’re considering gifting one, be sure to snag some beeswax or food-grade mineral oil to keep it from drying out. Seguin-based Holdman Honey (holdmanhoney.square.site) offers onepound blocks of Texas beeswax for just such a purpose.

Cookbooks

When shopping for home cooks who already have all the toys, it may be worth gifting a cookbook or two to get their culinary juices flowing.

San Antonio Cooks (Figure 1 Publishing) showcases recipes from Alamo City culinary

powerhouses including Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar’s Kristina Zhao, Clementine power couple Elise and John Russ, Ming’s namesake Ming Qian von Bargen and Geronimo Lopez of Botika. Author Julia Rosenfeld uses more than 15 years of food writing experience to connect with chefs about their favorite recipes — and help home cooks create and share those eats.

For those with more of a sweet tooth, local food blogger Megan Neveu will drop her new cookbook Sugar + Spice Cookies (Page Street Publishing) Dec. 6, with 60 recipes that aim to transform ordinary cookie flavor combinations with aromatic herbs, sweet spices and seasonal fruits. In addition to the cookies of the book’s title, readers can also expect recipes for brownie-cookie hybrids, cookie bars and pinwheels.

Kitschy kitchen textiles

They say a person’s home is an extension of themselves, so why not gift some fun, unexpected kitchen linens that match your friends’ personalities? San Antonio’s boutique scene is popping these days, and many of them offer handcrafted kitchen textiles that aren’t only cute but reusable and be er for the environment.

Pearl’s newest home decor boutique Rancho Diaz carries napkins, potholders and tea towels that feature bright colors, interesting pa erns and artisanal details. For the particularly messy cook in your life, the shop carries woven Guatemalan aprons in a variety of colors and pa erns that pop. Rancho Diaz, 303 Pearl Parkway, #101, (210) 670-5509, ranchodiaz.com.

Monte Vista shop Chica Verde largely focuses on outdoor items such as cacti and succulents in funky vessels. However, you can also find fun, colorful tea towels, coaster sets and bo le openers for the foodie who likes a li le flair. If you’re lucky enough to catch owner Valerie Reynolds loading in some new arrivals, you may even snag an a ractive plant stand for the home cook who grows their own cooking herbs. Chica Verde, 2314 San Pedro Ave., chicaverde.net.

Courtesy Image / Figure 1 Publishing

Instagram / @chica_verde_tx

Instagram / @rancho.diaz

High Priest of Metal

Catching up with Rob Halford ahead of Judas Priest’s two-night run at Tech Port Center

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

Judas Priest’s back-to-back performances in San Antonio this month come scant weeks after the groundbreaking heavy metal act made headlines — twice — for its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

First, Priest — one of the few metal bands to headbang its way into the institution — reunited with estranged guitarist K.K. Downing and ’70s-era drummer Les Binks for a threesong set. Second, frontman Rob Halford lit up the internet by singing with fellow inductee Dolly Parton during a show-closing performance of her song “Jolene.”

The Current spoke with Halford via Zoom ahead of Priest’s Tuesday, Nov. 22 and Wednesday, Nov. 23 shows at San Antonio’s Tech Port Center + Arena. The performances are part of the band’s 50 Heavy Metal Years tour, which also hit the Alamo City back in March.

No other U.S. city drew three performances from Priest on the tour. The repeat performances likely stem from the fact that San Antonio was one of the cities that broke the Birmingham, England-formed band stateside. In turn, that relationship helped cement SA’s longtime rep as the “Heavy Metal Capital of the World.”

During the conversation, Halford — one of the first metal performers to publicly come out as gay — talked about what to expect from the band’s next album, his new book of essays titled Biblical, how long he plans to keep hi ing the road and the “beautiful light of love” that is Dolly Parton.

Did performing with K.K. Downing at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony help put aside some of the acrimony that he’s shown about not being in band for these last few tours?

I think we should let the music speak for itself, really, because as you’ll see from the performance — I think it’s going to be on HBO soon — you’ll see that all of that other stuff is irrelevant. All the things that have been said and suggested just float off into the air. What ma ers is what’s going down on that stage at that time you’re performing together. And there he is on my right-hand side. It just felt like he was always there. Look behind me and

there’s [’70s-era Priest drummer Les Binks], and the memories just are overwhelming. But, more than that, you’re focusing on the moment that you’re back together again and playing live. It was really a whirlwind. We were in each other’s company for a very, very short space of time. We had very li le time to communicate. But for the purpose of the induction of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame together, it was absolutely crucial that K.K. and Les were there. They were inducted, they needed to be in the room. And more than that, we were thrilled that they took the opportunity to say, “Yeah, we’ll come and jam on stage again with you guys.”

There was also a lot of attention given to you singing with Dolly Parton, another recent inductee, on “Jolene.” How did that come about, and how important is her work to you?

I knew that there was going to be an opportunity a few weeks before the event. Again, it was just kind of floating around that she was going to do this song at the end of the show and bring all of her friends onstage with her. And I didn’t realize that we were going to be so connected. I sang one chorus with Dolly Parton and the world’s gone nuts. And I can appreciate that now. I didn’t understand it at first. And now these days have gone by, and people are going, “Where’s the album with Dolly and the Metal God?”

I’ll tell you something about her: she’s been here forever, a bit like Her Majesty the Queen, who left us recently. What I mean by that is when Dolly walks into the room, you feel this regal presence. She’s just got this aura about her personality. She’s a genu-

inely beautiful light of love and caring and philanthropy and humanity. It’s all real, man. It’s all very real. There are some people who are very different on and off stage. Well, no, not with Dolly. That’s Dolly’s thing. So, for me to have that opportunity, I was just blessed and honored and thrilled. I know her work because I’ve lived as long as Dolly, and I was aware of Dolly as a young person growing up and seeing her on British television. She’d come over and do these British variety shows. And here I am, this kid from a public housing estate in the West Midlands in England, and I’m standing next to Dolly fucking Parton, who is now a rock chick.

You released your autobiography Confess during the pandemic. And Biblical, your follow-up book of essays, was released Nov. 1. That’s two books in quick succession. Do you see yourself continuing to write — and at this pace?

I think life is about doing whatever you want to try and do, and not being afraid to take the plunge. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But you don’t know until you try, no ma er what it is in life. And I’ve always been an avid book reader, and I love autobiographies especially. So, for Confess, I’d been asked for years and years and years for the autobiography, and I said I wasn’t ready. And then the year of readiness came along, and then I said, “Let’s do it.” Another incredible piece of it is that I was working with [co-writer Ian Gi ins], a guy that walks the same street as I do. He’s from my neck of the woods. His home is literally 10 miles or less from me. So, to have somebody with the same metal blood, so to speak, how did that

music

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Jaime Monzon

happen?

To work with somebody that is so in your world, as a person, was incredibly important. And then, because of that, you’re able to be so brutally honest and open with everything that you’ve had happen in your life. I had so much fun with Ian writing Confess. We talked for like 50 hours, man, over a period of weeks. By the time we were ge ing to the back end, I said, “I’ve got this crazy idea for a follow-up.” I told him it would just be about the ups and downs, the ins and outs of how to get into this world of rock ‘n’ roll. “OK,” he said. “Yeah, that’s a pre y good idea.” I said, “I’m also going to take the liberty with the Good Book, the Holy Bible.” He goes, “This’ll be fun.”

So, I take Revelations and temptations and Acts and all this other kind stuff from the Bible and find a parallel. Temptations: booze and drugs. Revelation’s revealing what it takes to get a band on stage, any artist on stage. It’s one thing to see them, but how did they get there? What did those people have to do to stand on that spot under the spotlight? So, there it was, that was the template for Biblical. And we had a blast. I enjoy it. Of course, Ian does all the hard work.

You recently said you’re pushing to get the next album out in 2023. You also said it’s not going to be a sequel to the last album, Firepower, but something that breaks new ground — which Priest has done multiple times during its career. Can you give a hint what to expect from it? It’s amazing, isn’t it, music? There’s only so many notes, and yet it’s like an endless mathematical equation. It never fails to amaze me how we can put music together with such a limited resource. Sad Wings of Destiny, Point of Entry, Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, Turbo, Sin After Sin, Redeemer of Souls, Firepower, Painkiller. Man, they all have their own legs to stand on, don’t they? But they’re connected just because of the sound and this voice. So, I think this next record is going to probably be full of those elements again, but a li le bit more advanced, a li le bit more progressive.

The Firepower album contained a lot of the classic vibes of Priest, if you want to call it that. So, we’ve covered that territory. But it’s very important not to replicate something. We’ve always tried to push every record to have its own legs to stand on. So, this record,

even now is on this phone. (Taps his cell phone.) I’ve got it on this phone, just the instrumentation. It’s just roaring. It’s absolutely roaring. It’s got everything that you love about the band on it, and then some.

So, that’s about as much as I can say, because how do you talk about music? It’s impossible. The riffs are heavy, dude. But it’s been a joy, and more than anything, I’m so proud of the band to have something of great value and texture coming this far on. This far on, man. Fifty years later, we’re still able to make this kind of really important, strong music for ourselves and for our fans.

Once I’ve got my vocals done, then you have to work with the label, the vinyl and the prepping and all that kind of stuff. I’d like to think it’ll drop in 2023, but we’ll see. When you drop the record, it has to be for all the right moments. Because the other thing is Priest has always toured on the back of a new album. This 50th anniversary is the first time ever where we haven’t toured with new music. It’s been a blast, because of course we’re also celebrating 40 years of Screaming Vengeance. And this conversation is really important in terms of our love for San Antonio, coming back so quickly. We’re coming back, man. That just shows you the love that San Antonio has for Priest.

What should fans here expect from those two shows?

Anybody that saw us the first time around, this is a new show for you. You’re going to hear “Screaming for Vengeance,” the title track, for the first time in forever; “Riding on the Wind,” first time in forever, “Jawbreaker,” in forever. It’s a very potent, strong, powerful show. I got a text from [Exodus and Slayer guitarist] Gary Holt a bit after the Ontario show the other day. He goes, “Dude, you are, without a doubt, the definitive heavy metal band of all time. That show just fucking blew my mind.” And that means a lot, because we’re friends and he’s a great musician. In his place, in his world with Exodus and the genre of his music, he’s the master of that territory. So, for him to be so kind and throw that kind of stuff to me on a text, means a lot. So, this set that we’re doing right now, it’s just a killer.

Clearly, it’s very important for you to deliver a powerful live set. Given the age of everyone in the band, how

much longer do you see yourself being able to deliver that kind of set?

At what point do you decide, “Well, maybe it’s time to take a step back?”

I look at what Mick Jagger does, look at what Roger Daltrey does, what Steven from Aerosmith does. I’m just talking about singers. They inspire me. They absolutely inspire me. And their voices are good, their voices are strong. They’re able to do the work. As long as I’m able to do the work, I don’t want to go home and just put the remote on ESPN or the Weather Channel. I can’t do that. I can’t do that. Some days, I do feel like, “Oh, man, I just want to go home.” And then a week later I’m like, “Where’s the tour bus?”

It’s a crazy world, rock ’n’ roll is. There’s no doubt that the clock is ticking, that the heavy metal sunset is there, but let’s not think about that. I think once you do, you start to decompress a li le bit. So, rather than the dusk of heavy metal, I’m always thinking about the dawn of heavy metal. That’s the way it is for me. We’ll know when the time comes, and we’ll do the right thing. But we’re not even thinking about that at this point. The band is just red-hot right now, and we’re just thrilled and honored to be in this place — to be able to keep making the metal as strongly as it should be.

San Antonio was one of the places in the U.S. where people latched onto Priest very early, thanks in large part to KISS-FM DJ Joe Anthony. Do you have memories of being surprised how rabid the fandom was here before it took hold in other places?

Totally,

And

took me

the

station, and I couldn’t believe. He’s si ing in this squeaky old chair, and there’s pizza boxes and pop cans and everything around. And he’s got a turntable, and we’re talking — I didn’t even know we were on the air. ... And we’re talking, we’re talking. And then, “OK, we’re going to listen to some Priest now,” he says and puts on the whole side of Sad Wings of Destiny — the whole side. And I go, “This is really cool.” Joe says, “Yeah. I do what I want. I love music so much, and I know what my listeners want. And I know how important heavy metal is in San Antonio and how much more important it’s going to be. But I’m just thrilled to be here with you and to share this music and push this music as much as I can.”

So that kindness, that generosity, is something that I always feel when I come back to San Antonio. It’s extraordinary, because I’ve been all over America a million times, but whenever I come back to San Antonio, it’s like a li le bit of home there for me. I just love to get on the streets and walk up and down the River Walk and go for some food or whatever. And so that’s just a beautiful thing. It’s a blessing when we come back. And, like I said, to come back so quickly, man, you guys love your metal. This is a real honor for us to come back so quickly and have some more good times together.

$34.50 and up, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 and Wednesday, Nov. 23, Tech Port Center + Arena, 3331 General Hudnell Road, (210) 600-3699, techportcenter.com.

sacurrent.com | November 16 –29, 2022

totally. I remember the first person I met when I got to San Antonio was Joe.

he

to

radio

Jaime Monzon

BENEFITING

SPONSORED BY

critics’ picks

Wednesday, Nov. 16

Sweet Lizzy Project

With a name reading like a portmanteau of classic rock band monikers, it may a surprise to learn that Sweet Lizzy Project started in Havana, Cuba, before its members defected and landed in Nashville. Since then, the band has opened for inspirations including Joan Jett and Heart, and it’s also added Mavericks vocalist Raul Malo to its fanbase. The group’s sound reflects not just classic radio rock influences but also elements of Evanescence and roots music, some of which draws on the members’ Cuban upbringing. Sweet Lizzy Project may be a good bet for those who enjoy contemporary, commercial hard rock with a handful of outside-the-box elements. $12-$50, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 2232830, samsburgerjoint.com. — Mike McMahan

Valiant Thorr, He is Legend, Donella Drive, Moonshot

North Carolina natives Valiant Thorr aim to rock crowds with an old-school approach that draws on AC/DC-style ri age with a side of heavy metal — especially its dueling guitar solos. Iggy Thorr, Storm Thorr and Valiant Himself are just a few of the stage names that feature in the group’s rotating lineup. Although Valiant Thorr claims to have been birthed on the planet Venus several millennia ago as part of its schtick, in reality, the band is celebrating its 20th year of existence. $18-$20, 7:30 p.m., The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 772-1443, therockboxsa.com. — Brianna Espinoza

Joe Satriani

It’s been a good season for guitar heroes here in San Antonio. We played host to Steve Vai in October, and now we have his teacher — Joe Satriani — who also instructed Kirk Hammett, later the six-stringer for a little band called Metallica. Fans of guitar heroics know the name well, though more casual listeners may be surprised to learn that Satriani has a distinct pop sheen to his music, contrasting accessible melodies and a warm tone with technique-driven shred. Satriani’s debut, 1987’s Surfing with the Alien, remains his signature record. $34.50-$74.50, 7:30 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — MM

Thursday, Nov. 17

Beach Fossils, The Red Pears, Benches, Floats

Brooklyn-based indie rock band Beach Fossils formed in 2009 as a solo vehicle for lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dustin Payseur. Focused on a stripped-down, lo-fi sound, Payseur originally added other musicians just to perform live and tour. Over time, however, he brought his bandmates into the song creation process,

culminating in the 2017 release Somersault Fans of the HBO show Vinyl might recognize the Beach Fossils from the time the members got to portray late-’70s punk band the Nasty Bits on that series. $25, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 310-5047, papertigersatx.com. — Danny Cervantes

Friday, Nov. 18

Hoods, Arcline, Executioner, Mortar

Influenced by early-’80s hardcore bands such as Minor Threat and Cro-Mags, Hoods popped up on the scene 10-plus years after their heroes. The rough and rowdy band was known for run-ins with the cops, not to mention altercations with people who attended its shows. That led the band to relocate from Sacramento to the Bay Area, but the move didn’t change its style. Now operating with an almost complete lineup revamp, the group continues to vent about all the things in life that suck. $16-$18, 7:30 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, therockboxsa.com. — BE

Junior H

With the self-released video for its his song “No Eh Cambiado,’’ Junior H popularized the corridos tumbados genre, which bridges American hip-hop with Mexican corridos. While still in high school, he signed to Rancho Humilde and dropped two full-length projects in 2020 — and there’s been no slowdown since. Both Junior H’s 2021 album $ad Boyz 4 Life and 2022’s Mi Vida en un Cigarro 2 debuted at the top the regional Mexican albums chart. He’s now on the road in support of both. “The vibes for this tour will be super chill, we’ll be celebrating and people will get to enjoy my corridos,” he told Billboard. “There will also be a lot of love for the morritas (girls).” $27 and up, 7:45 p.m., Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St., (210) 226-1177, freemancoliseum.com. — Marco Aquino

Saturday, Nov. 19

Kyle Smith, Kaya Kotura, George Spits with Llama

Beats, Kainoa

Kyle Smith plays a type of reggae that’s faster than most and occasionally lingers on the edge of hip-hop. His positive and encouraging rhymes are accompanied by the expected staccato guitar and island horns, but there’s also a rock twist. Smith dropped his first full-length album Lost Cause last year, but he’s been working on his craft since 2017. $16-$18, 7:30 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, therockboxsa.com. — BE

Grupo Firme

Referred to as a “stadium juggernaut” by Billboard, Grupo Firme made history by becoming the first banda ensemble to ever play Coachella and only the third regional Mexican group to

Grupo Firme

enter the U.S. Hot 100. The group got its start in 2014 playing weddings in Tijuana and is now one of Mexico’s biggest touring acts. In 2021, it performed seven back-to-back shows at the Staples Center, missing Adele’s record by a single show. In September, Grupo Firme broke ranchera legend Vicente Fernández’s hometurf attendance record, performing in front of a crowd of 280,000 people at Mexico City’s Zócalo. Another barrier broken: the group has an openly gay member — a first in a genre historically dominated by machismo. $45 and up, 8 p.m., Alamodome, 100 Montana St., (210) 207-3663, alamodome.com. — MA

Tuesday, Nov. 22

Anything Box

Anything Box’s biggest hit, 1988’s “Living in Oblivion,” became the title of a five-disc CD set that highlighted the new wave sounds of that decade — despite the song not being included in the collection. Su ce to say, expect the band to deliver on synth-forward retro-future sounds that recall the days of wearing sunglasses at night and eating barbecued iguana. More than 30 years after Anything Box’s debut, Argentinian-born vocalist Claude Strilio, the band’s founding member, continues to deliver music that fills the dance floor. $25-$100, 8:30 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — DC

Friday Nov. 25

Feng Suave, Jaguar Sun

Amsterdam-based songwriters and producers Daniel De Jong and Daniel Elvis Schoemaker make up the psychedelic-pop and neo-soul duo Feng Suave. Formed in 2017, the laid-back duo has released three EPs, most recently 2021’s So Much for Gardening. The trippy sound evokes both the ’50s and ’60s while the humorous lyrics tackle weighty subjects such as climate change and capitalism. Jaguar Sun, the solo project of Canadian multi-instrumentalist Chris Minielly, takes inspiration from Frightened Rabbit and the Fruit Bats to create dreamy indie pop soundscapes. $17-$20, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC

Saturday, Nov. 26

42nd Annual Tejano Music Awards

This iteration of the long-running awards show marks the first time since COVID-19 hit U.S. shores that it’s been held with a live audience. Expect performances by genre biggies including Shelly Lares, Jay Perez, Stefani Montiel and Sunny Sauceda, among others. The Tejano Music Awards are presented by the Texas Talent Musicians Association, a nonprofit whose purpose is to promote Tejano music and provide a platform for its songwriters, artists and musicians. $30-$125, 7 p.m., Tech Port Center + Arena, 3331 General Hudnell Dr., (210) 600-3699, techportcenter.com. — MA

sacurrent.com | November 16 –29, 2022

Instagram / Grupo Firme

EMPLOYMENT

since 1954. Must be qualified and comfortable to teach beginning through advanced levels. Bachelor’s or Master’s degree preferred. Studio is well equipped with grand pianos in teaching rooms, Please include videos of performances on your instrument. Studio works with the Music Foundation of San Antonio to sponsor scholarships for low-income families. Please visit our website at www.northsidemusicschool.com www.musicfoundationofsanantonio.org Send Resume to learnmusic@northsidemusicschool.com

Software Developer IV - Rackspace US, Inc.San Antonio, TX. Oversees entire development lifecycle for a team of software engineers. Req’d: Bach deg in tech rel fld + min 7yrs exp in software dev, engineering, testing or rel fld including min 3yrs exp as Technical Lead. Req’d: 3+ yrs API integration exp. Send resume to: careers@rackspace.com, Ref. 28981

Northside Music School - Now Hiring Piano, Violin, Cello, and Voice Teachers in the San Antonio area for private lessons with an established studio in business